I don't have a campaign or anything major but I have been working on a specific adventure for my home group that I was interested in play testing with others. I want this adventure to be special for my players and want to iron out rough spots before it hits the table.

It involves "futuristic technology" and characters that would be level 2 or 3. Would PbP be a good way to play test or nah? I'm still fairly new to the idea of PbP.

mgtremaine wrote:It all depends on how much time you have and how involved the players are. PBP can be great but it's going to be slow......

-Mike

Idrahil wrote:I have plenty of time before it hits the table. I am still finishing up the current campaign which will set up the new campaign. Then, they have to get to level 2 or 3 before this adventure.

By "it's going to be slow", Mike means that it can take an EXTREMELY long time (as in years, in many cases) for a party to make its way through a model. On the Unseen Servant, I'm in a published module that started in March of 2011 and we're still not even half way through it. What might take 10 minutes in a FTF game could easily take 10 weeks in a PbP game. Extrapolate that out and a two hour gaming session could take several years in PbP.

So, unless what you have is just a few pages long total, it probably isn't something you'd be able to finish even by the end of next year.

It is harder to judge time in a strictly-sandbox game, which is really a good thing. But it becomes a stark reality when you play a published module out in a forum.

Not trying to discourage you in any way; just being realistic with the amount of time that may be involved.

I think a lot depends on how focused your PBP group is. If you set out with a goal of posting every day and finishing it up in one month, you can probably get "quite a bit" (in PBP terms) done. But you'll definitely need focus. And time. It takes quite a bit of effort, in terms of records keeping, to run a PBP game. If you're all prepped up front it can certainly make it run smoother.

The other side of it is, the PBP format allows the ref breathing time (hours rather than seconds) to consider everything before replying. From that point of view it can be a very good platform for evaluating the game as it is running. Whereas, FTF, the ref has his hands so full of running the game, he hardly has time think strategically on the fly.

I would recommend that you keep it very short, and very focused, and give yourself a limited time box; say a month from kickoff. I'd be surprised if you didn't get some positive information out of the exercise.